"All right, if you don't want my help I don't care," answered
Tom, glad enough not to have to soil his hands and clothes. He
felt that it was partly his fault, and he would have done all he
could to remedy matters, but his good offers being declined, he
felt that it was useless to insist further.
He remounted his motor-cycle, and rode off, the last view he
had of the trio being one where they were at the edge of the
brook, trying to remove the worst traces of the black fluid. As
Tom turned around for a final glimpse, Andy shook his fist at
him, and called out something.
"I guess Andy'll have it in for me," mused Tom. "Well, I can't
help it. I owed him something on account, but I didn't figure on
paying it in just this way," and he thought of the time the bully
had locked him in the ballast tanks of the submarine, thereby
nearly smothering him to death.
That night Andy Foger told his father what had happened, for
Mr. Foger inquired the reason for the black stains on his son's
face and hands. But Andy did not give the true version. He said
Tom had purposely thrown the bottle of blacking at him.
"So that's the kind of a lad Tom Swift is, eh?" remarked Andy's
father.
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